Big Lake picks bypass route

BIG LAKE — Years worth of meetings here to pick a route for traffic generated by the proposed Knik Arm bridge have yielded a result: the Big Lake Community Council wants traffic to move around Big Lake to the east.

The Mat-Su Borough Assembly is scheduled to weigh in on the route at its meeting tonight at the Big Lake Recreation Center.

Specifically, the council endorsed Route 3a — a route that would follow Burma Road to Purinton Parkway, to West Susitna Parkway to South Big Lake Road, jog east around the traditionally defined Big Lake town center along a new road and then connect back to Big Lake Road and from there intersect with Parks Highway.

“We decided that Route 3a best fits our comprehensive plan’s vision,” said Big Lake Community Council Vice President Dan Mayfield at the Aug. 26 assembly meeting.

Mayfield said that of the seven routes the Big Lake Community Impact Assessment evaluated, only 3a managed to hold traffic numbers where they currently are.

“It actually reduces it just slightly,” he said.

Other routes considered, in numerical order, were:

Route 1: The route would send traffic far to the west, around the Nancy Lake State Recreation Area, connecting with Parks Highway north of Willow. It’s one of two that were rejected in the assessment process. A report that Mat-Su Borough staff prepared for tonight’s meeting noted that the route was rejected because of its major impacts to trails, its high cost and its “low anticipated usage.”

Route 2: The route runs the same direction as Route 3a until it hits Susitna Parkway, where it jogs west instead of east, eventually linking up with the Point MacKenzie Rail Extension and following the railroad to an intersection with the Parks Highway in Houston.

Route 3: This route just follows existing roads. It sends traffic through downtown Big Lake and out onto the Parks Highway.

Route 3a: This route was detailed above; it’s the one the community council endorses.

Route 3b: This route is the same as 3a but it jogs further east in bypassing Big Lake’s town center. Instead of linking back up with Big Lake Road it would route traffic to Johnson Road and send it back to the Parks near Fisher’s Fuel.

Route 4: This is the other route that the assessment dismissed summarily. It doesn’t follow the existing roads like the various iterations of Route 3 do, instead it swings far out to the east. The borough cites as reasons for rejecting it, “unacceptable wetland impacts, effects on the Aurora Dog Mushers Club mushing area and community sentiment.”

Route 5: This one follows Point MacKenzie Road and Knik-Goose Bay Road until Hazel Avenue where it shoots north, mostly along Johnson Road.

Contact Andrew Wellner at 352-2270 or andrew.wellner@frontiersman.com.